When we last left Chromeskull, the iconic silver-skulled killer of FX maestro Rob Hall's feature directorial debut, he was rather, shall we say, bashed up. But thanks to advancements in medical science, you just can't keep a good maniac down. Chromeskull might not be quite so pretty beneath his trademark shine any more, but he's back and his brush with death hasn't lessoned his taste for bloodshed one iota.

Late last year, I spent a day going behind the scenes of Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2, checking out the sets as well as Hall's Almost Human Studios, located just a block away from the production. I saw Chromeskull (Nick Principe) in full glory as he placed the shrieking Jessica (Mimi Michaels) into a coffin. And I chatted with Hall and producing/writing partner Kevin Bocarde about bringing the killer back to life; as well as stars Thomas Dekker (whose small role as Tommy from the first film has been greatly expanded for the sequel) and Michaels (after she got shoved  into that coffin), and Chromeskull himself, Nick Principe, sans mask. I also took a look at some early footage featuring Brian Austin Green, who makes a villainous turn as a mysterious ally to Chromeskull named Preston. Find out what I learned and check out some new photos from the film after the jump.

The first question just about any fan of the first film has is "How in the world is Chromeskull alive?"

"Yes, obviously that's a tough one to come back from," says Principe, who reprises his role of the titular killer. "We didn't want to go the supernatural route. We all thought that would be jumping the shark too soon. We talked to plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgeons and doctors. We basically said, ‘If the front part of the skull was smashed and there wasn't any major brain damage in there, could he theoretically be fixed?' And they said, ‘Well, he wouldn't be pretty, but if he was immediately rushed to medical attention, yeah, he could live.'"

"We're not overly explaining too much about how he survived," says Hall. "You see how he survived, but it's more along the lines of medical incredible than Hostel or something where you're like, ‘What?'"

"There's the woman who had her face chewed off by a monkey," adds Bocarde. "It's just about sticking within a semi-realist medical realm rather than some voodoo priest resurrected his soul or some junk like that."

While the new movie promises to reveal an expanded world, Hall and Bocarde aren't planning to offer a major backstory to explain Chromeskull's motivations. "You're never going to find out he's the bastard son of a thousand maniacs," says Bocarde. "His motives are his own."

"I love watching all those shows about serial killers," says Hall enthusiastically. "There's all the crazy CSI and forensic shows. I don't know why that guy in Canada decapitated a guy listening to his iPod next to him. I'll never know the answer to that question and I don't need to know. I just need to know that that kind of behavior exists, that kind of perversion exists and the capability within the human psyche exists."

Chromeskull isn't in a particularly good mood when he first looks in a mirror after his arduous recovery process, which provides a new level of motivation in and of itself. "There's an amazing scene we shot last night when he sees his face for the first time," Principe tells me. "He freaks the fuck out and just destroys the room. We're lead to assume that he was a pretty good-looking guy before all that stuff happened. He is not a good-looking guy any more."

As part of the expanded world, Laid to Rest 2 introduces a new character named Preston, played by Brian Austin Green. While Hall and Bocarde were largely mum as to his exact role, we do know that he's a bad guy and that he is connected to Chromeskull, who spends much of the first part of the film "on the mend," as Hall put it, while Preston steps up to the plate.

"Brian Austin Green is going to blow people's minds in this movie," says Hall. "It's different than anything he's ever done. His character and his performance in this movie really help bridge the gap between Chromeskull at the end of the first movie and Chromeskull basically midway through this movie. He does a great job."

Bocarde screened a short reel of footage from Laid to Rest 2 featuring Brian Austin Green. In the first scene Green transforms himself, shaving his head and getting a chest tattoo of the Chromeskull logo. All the while, he maintains an icy cold glaze with the camera. In another scene, Green talks to a bound Dekker and Mitchell, asking them which way they prefer to die.

"I can't wait to see what people are going to say about Brian in the movie," says Bocarde.

During my visit, I observed two scenes. The first involved Dekker and Michaels trapped in a cage full of Chromeskull's weapons. In the second scene, Chromeskull lifted Michaels into the air and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Michaels let out a blood-curdling scream that required the sound main to readjust his levels for the next take.

"It just kind of came out," laughs Michaels. "I told Rob, ‘I've never screamed like that before.'"

Besides having to deal with a murderous psychotic, Michaels' character has an additional challenge. "She's actually got early stages of glaucoma," says Michaels. "So throughout this I'm on my way towards going blind. The whole journey is blurry and scary. At times I don't know where I am. It adds to all this franticness, not knowing what's going on and literally not being able to see what's happening."

When Thomas Dekker was first approached for Laid to Rest 2, he expected it would be another bit part similar to the first movie. "I got the script and I'm like, ‘Oh, I'm in this whole freakin' thing," laughs Dekker. "He's addicted to pain meds, so he's kind of a pill popper and he's constantly in fear. He sort of thinks he's crazy for thinking he'd still be a target and then, of course, finds out that he still is."

Dekker himself is a self-professed horror fanatic, which created a bond with Hall when the two first met on The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He promises horror fans will be very impressed with the things Hall and co. have in store for the sequel. "There is one death in this film that they shot a week ago that is quite possibly the most gnarly death I've ever seen. It's worse than Hellraiser, worse than Martyrs. Holy shit, you're going to die when you see it."

Much like the first film, Laid to Rest 2 will feature an impressive array of old-school practical work as well as buckets and buckets of blood. "Rob comes from a more classic ‘80s/‘70s horror school," says Dekker. "I love how practical everything is [in Chromeskull]. It's all makeup."

Back over at Almost Human, an exhausted Nick Porn readies prosthetics and lots of blood for the next scene. "This movie has been extraordinarily difficult on every level, so I'm sure it's going to be amazing," says Porn. "It's horrendous to shoot, but if the movie turns out great, it's worth it. This one's like three times as hard as the first one."

Porn adds that all of the deaths are far more elaborate than the first film. Part 2 also ups the kill count to 11 (nearly double the first). "We've so far gone through about 15 gallons of blood," says Porn with a smile followed by a yawn.

While he still expects criticism, Hall says he learned a great deal from his experiences on the first film. He has worked diligently to address many of the issues fans complained about from the first. "The cast is amazing, everyone has phones," says Hall. He's also focused more of the film on the character everyone really wants to see, hence the second film's title, Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2. "I think all the stars sort of aligned and I think that's the one true right thing about the first movie, Chromeskull," says Hall. "So that's why we wanted to really focus the movie around him on this one."

"I literally don't know what they're going to criticize," adds a confident Hall. "Too much blood?"

Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 is currently slated for an October 2011 release.